JOSHUA POLSON/jpolson@greeleytribune.com
Eric Hept and his pit bull, Brooklyn, have their attention grabbed by a nearby dog as they take a break during the Colorado Pit Bull Advocates meeting Saturday at the Freedom Dog Park in Evans. The Colorado Pit Bull Advocates hope to have similiar events in the future.

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As Justin Borowski’s dog Bruce used a chiseled torso to drag him by his leash to a nearby room, he marveled at the power of his animal.

That show of strength, though, is always a mixed blessing. Bruce is a pit bull, and many people fear that power, even if they, like Borowski, may also marvel at it.

In fact, he’s working with Brian Hammond of Greeley to change what they believe are misconceptions about pit bulls such as Bruce.

As soon as they sit down, Bruce jumps into Hammond’s lap. Hammond, 20, has his own pit bull, and he coos at Bruce as the dog slaps his face with his tongue, which is as big and moist as a washcloth.

“Does he look like he needs to be muzzled?” Borowski said.

Unfortunately, at least for Borowski and Hammond and their new organization, Colorado Pit Bull Advocates , people need more than a few kisses to calm those fears. Pit bulls face prejudice, they said, and they point to ordinances in Denver-area cities such as Aurora that ban them.

“My girlfriend and I wound up moving here from Louisiana, and we never saw the legislation like they have in Aurora,” Borowski said. “I can’t sit around and watch dogs killed for the way they look.”

A pit bull’s looks alone, with its bicep body and shark-like smile, are enough to make people uneasy. But it doesn’t help, the two say, that pit bulls are the NFL linebackers of domestic dogs, and those who run the fighting circles marvel at their power, too.

Hammond and Borowski show their own teeth when they’re asked about the dog fights. The organization’s primary goal is to convince people to see them as dogs, and sweet ones at that, not weapons of mass destruction. Those fights, they said, obviously hurt their cause.

They started their quest in January, when Borowski, 30, proposed a meet-up with other pit bull owners at a dog park just a few blocks from his place in Evans. He put an ad on Craig’s List and about 20 showed up on four days notice. Hammond, who was frustrated at people leaving the park after they saw his pit bull, was one of the 20. Borowski formed the advocacy group in mid-January and now has a board and is working for a nonprofit status.

Saturday they handed out flyers at the same dog park and showed off pit bulls, the ones with the licking power of Bruce, as proof of their assertions that they’re no more dangerous than any other dog. They also hope to host similar events at, say, busy retail stores down the road. They may call those events Pet A Pit days.

“You even hear the argument for pit bulls about how it depends on how you raise the dog,” Borowski said. “But Bruce here was abused as a puppy, and look at him. He’s still beautiful.”

Others back up what they’re saying. Susie West, spokeswoman for the Greeley Police Department who spent a couple years supervising the department’s Animal Control Unit, said the circumstances the dogs are in, rather than their breed, seem to be the overriding factors that lead to attacks. Bites are tough to track by breed because no records on specific dogs are kept.

“I don’t know that any particular breed sticks out to me,” West said. “We’ve had bite reports from Chihuahuas to Great Danes.”

The Weld County Humane Society holds pit bulls to a higher standard, said the executive director, Elaine Hicks, meaning the dogs can’t display any forms of aggression, whether it’s toward dogs or kids or older people.

“That’s because of their reputation,” Hicks said.

There’s a higher volume of pit bulls that come in compared with other breeds, Hicks said, because those other cities, including Castle Rock, Denver and Fort Lupton, have banned them. Even with the shelter’s extra caution, she said the owners are the key to a dog’s success. Pit bulls don’t have higher bite rates than other dogs, though the injuries from those bites can be more severe, Hicks said.

“I think with proper education and training, they can be as successful as any other dog,” Hicks said.

The two believe so, too, and they’ve also started adopting out pit bulls. They are picky. They do home visits. They don’t want to give the pit bulls to anyone who may want to use them for fighting.

They started the adoption program to give a pit bull a second chance. But really, they just want a chance themselves. They hope to hold more rallies and meet-ups, and the place where it all began seems the perfect place for them to spread their message. That dog park carries just one name.

Freedom.

Staff writer Dan England covers the outdoors, entertainment and general assignment stories for The Tribune. His column runs on Tuesday. If you have an idea for a column, call (970) 392-4418 or e-mail dengland@greeleytribune.com. Follow him on Twitter @ DanEngland.